At the end of the 2016-2017 NBA season, it became clear that LeBron was biding his time to get out of Cleveland once the 2018 offseason came around. The Warriors were just too much for that iteration of the Cavaliers, even with a healthy Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Kyrie forcing himself out of Cleveland just solidified LeBron’s inevitable departure. Although Los Angeles was at the top of most analysts’ lists of future LeBron destinations, I thought that the smartest decision was Philadelphia. I felt that if LeBron was focused on winning as many championships as possible, he would stay in the East where the competition was weaker and team up with the young duo of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid to help lighten the workload for himself. Oh, and the Sixers had the cap space to add LeBron in the 2018 offseason.
When the Sixers got the third pick in the 2017 draft, I figured they were closing in on Duke‘s rising star, Jayson Tatum. They already had Ben Simmons at the point, JJ Redick at the two, and Joel Embiid at center. I envisioned LeBron at the power forward position and a young Jayson Tatum filling in at small forward. Then, the Sixers got in their own way. Philly traded up to the number one spot. I thought they just wanted to be sure they got their man in Tatum, but boy was I wrong. They selected Markelle Fultz. Now, let‘s just put all the Fultz jump shooting (or lack thereof) drama aside for a moment. Let’s say Fultz actually panned out and reached his potential. The question still remains - why would you draft a point guard JUST ONE YEAR AFTER DRAFTING YOUR POINT GUARD OF THE FUTURE? You clearly could’ve improved at small forward (Robert Covington was starting) and Tatum was there for the taking. The front office decided to go in a different direction. Then the dominoes started to fall.
Fultz had to relearn how to shoot the ball because of controversial “injuries” and he missed most of the year. I’m still living in la la land believing that LeBron would still come to Philadelphia because the young duo was too good (and cheap) to ignore. LeBron make a lifestyle choice and signs with the Lakers. After the Sixers strike out in free agency in 2018, they trade for Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris (and also trade away Fultz), gutting their future draft assets in an all-in attempt to win a championship. They lose to the eventual champs, the Toronto Raptors, in the Conference Semis. Jayson Tatum becomes the face of the Boston Celtics and eventually becomes an All-Star. LeBron wills the Lakers to trade for Anthony Davis and the Lakers become the #1 seed in the West. Meanwhile, the Sixers become one of the most frustrating teams in the NBA with Simmons inability to space the floor due to a lack of a jump shot and by extension, his incompatibility with Joel Embiid. Combine this with their inability to win on the road, and you have a team that is stuck in limbo and has the rest of the NBA wondering if they are a contender or a pretender.
Comments